Court shopping site used to bribe

Chinese coppers have shut down a shopping website offering deals to workers at courts over fears it was being used to bribe officials.

The China Courts Shopping Network, where court workers had to log in with details that identified who they worked for, went off line this week. The Beijing News cited a legal expert as saying the site was little more than a venue for "covert bribes" and suggested legal authorities investigate how it had been allowed to operate.

The Supreme People's Court said it had severed links with the shopping site "to prevent misunderstandings" but insisted the service was genuine. Beijing XD-Union Technology which runs the site said it was an ordinary e-commerce portal. China's courts and legal bodies have suffered scandals over corruption and miscarriages of justice. Four senior judges in Shanghai were sacked after newspapers reported they had hired prostitutes at a nightclub.